
Soakin’ Up the Smoky Sun
With temperatures finally climbing to seasonable levels and with stormy sun filtering through the yellow-brown smoke coming our way courtesy of wildfires in Alberta and other parts of central Canada, we ventured out to see what might be basking in our local star’s refracted rays…












Brood XIV Periodical Cicada Emergence
Its been four years to the day since we posted our account of the big Brood X Periodical Cicada flight of 2021 in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed. With the Brood XIV clan of 17-year Periodical Cicadas getting ready fill the June air with their choruses in scattered parts of Pennsylvania’s Berks, Centre, Clinton, Franklin, Huntingdon, Juniata, Lancaster, Mifflin, Perry, Schuylkill, Snyder, Union, and York Counties right now, we thought it an appropriate time to open a new “Cicada” page here on the website. Included is a list of both the annually and periodically emerging species found in the lower Susquehanna valley, as well as a copy of the article and ID photos from the 2021 occurrence of Brood X. In coming months, we’ll be adding photos and maybe some sound clips of the different annual cicadas as well, so remember to check back from time to time for more content.

In the short term, we’re going to pay a visit to the Brood XIV territory and will bring you updates as we get them. Until then, be sure to click the new “Cicadas” tab at the top of this page to brush up on your ID of the three species of 17-year Periodical Cicadas.

Photographs in Living Color: Black and White is Beautiful
Here at susquehannawildlife.net headquarters, we really enjoy looking back in time at old black-and-white pictures. We even have an old black-and-white television that still operates quite well. But on a nice late-spring day, there’s no sense sitting around looking at that stuff when we could be outside tracking down some sightings of a few wonderful animals.









Late May Action in the Forest
Here’s a short preview of some of the finds you can expect during an outing in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed’s forests this week…





















Back in the Day: Down on the Farm
Let us travel through time for just a little while to recall those sunny, late-spring days down on the farm—back when the rural landscape was a quiet, semi-secluded realm with little in the way of traffic, housing projects, or industrialized agriculture. Those among us who grew up on one of these family homesteads, or had friends who did, remember the joy of exploring the meadows, thickets, soggy springs, and woodlots they protected.

For many of us, farmland was the first place we encountered and began to understand wildlife. Vast acreage provided an abundance of space to explore. And the discovery of each new creature provided an exciting experience.

Today, high-intensity agriculture, relentless mowing, urban sprawl, and the increasing costs and demand for land have all conspired to seriously deplete habitat quality and quantity for many of the species we used to see on the local farm. Unfortunately for them, farm wildlife has largely been the victim of modern economics.
For old time’s sake, we recently passed a nostalgic afternoon at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area examining what maintenance of traditional farm habitat has done and can do for breeding birds. Join us for a quick tour to remember how it used to be at the farm next door…

















Six Flowering Woody Plants
Here’s a look at six native shrubs and trees you can find blooming along forest edges in the lower Susquehanna valley right now.







Local old timers might remember hearing folklore that equates the northward advance of the blooming of the Flowering Dogwoods with the progress of the American Shad’s spring spawning run up the river. While this is hardly a scientific proclamation, it is likely predicated on what had been some rather consistent observation prior to the construction of the lower Susquehanna’s hydroelectric dams. In fact, we’ve found it to be a useful way to remind us that it’s time for a trip to the river shoreline below Conowingo Dam to witness signs of the spring fish migration each year. We’re headed that way now and will summarize our sightings for you in days to come.

Busy Bees
During a warm spell back in late March, adult Mason Bees began emerging from nest sites to begin mating. During recent days, we photographed the fertile females as they continued the process that will produce the next generation of these fruit-friendly pollinators.












Photo of the Day

Photo of the Day

A Towering American Elm
During the past week, Uncle Tyler Dyer has been out searching for autumn leaves to add to his collection. One of the species he had not encountered in previous outings was the American Elm (Ulmus americana), so he made a special trip to see a rare mammoth specimen in a small neighborhood park (Park Place) along Chestnut Street between 5th and Quince Streets in Lebanon, Pennsylvania.


There’s still time to get out and see autumn foliage. With warmer weather upon us—at least temporarily—it’s a good time to go for a stroll. Who knows, you might find some spectacular leaves like these collected by Uncle Ty earlier this week. All were found adorning native plants!






Things to See While You’re Leaf Peeping
During your foray to view the colorful foliage of the autumn landscape, a little effort will reveal much more than meets the eye of the casual observer.






















You too can experience the joys of walking and chewing gum at the same time, so grab your field glasses, your camera, and your jacket, then spend lots of time outdoors this fall. You can see all of this and much more.
Don’t forget to click the “Hawkwatcher’s Helper: Identifying Bald Eagles and other Diurnal Raptors” tab at the top of this page to help you find a place to see both fall foliage and migrating birds of prey in coming weeks. And click the “Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines” tab to find a photo guide that can help you identify the autumn leaves you encounter during your outings.
This Week’s Enormous Diurnal Flights
For the past several weeks, we’ve given you a look at the fallout of Neotropical songbirds on mornings following significant nocturnal flights of southbound migrants. Now let’s examine the diurnal (daytime) flights that have developed in recent days over parts of the lower Susquehanna basin and adjacent regions.
For those observing diurnal migrants, particularly at raptor-counting stations, the third week of September is prime time for large flights of tropics-bound Broad-winged Hawks. Winds from easterly directions during this year’s movements kept the greatest concentrations of these birds in the Ridge and Valley Province and upper areas of the Piedmont as they transited our region along a southwesterly heading. Counts topped 1,000 birds or more on at least one day at each of these lookouts during the past seven days. Meanwhile at hawk watches along the Piedmont/Atlantic Coastal Plain border, where flights topped 10,000 or more birds on the best days last fall, observers struggled to see 100 Broad-winged Hawks in a single day.

Among the challenges counters faced while enumerating migratory Broad-winged Hawks this week was the often clear blue skies, a glaring sun, and the high altitude at which these raptors fly during the mid-day hours.



Another factor complicating the hawk counters’ tasks this week, particularly west of the Susquehanna River, was the widespread presence of another group of diurnal fliers.






As the Broad-winged Hawk migration draws to a close during the coming ten days, the occurrence of the one dozen other migratory diurnal raptors will be on the upswing. They generally fly at lower altitudes, often relying upon wind updrafts on the ridges for lift instead of high-rising thermal updrafts. They therefore present better observation opportunities for visitors at hawk watch lookouts and are less frequently confused with high-flying Spotted Lanternflies.

A Prescribed Fire Site After the Burn
Back on March 24th, we took a detailed look at the process involved in administering prescribed fire as a tool for managing grassland and early successional habitat. Today we’re going turn back the hands of time to give you a glimpse of how the treated site fared during the five months since the controlled burn. Let’s go back to Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area for a photo tour to see how things have come along…















Elsewhere around the refuge at Middle Creek, prescribed fire and other management techniques are providing high-quality grassland habitat for numerous species of nesting birds…



We hope you enjoyed this short photo tour of grassland management practices. Now, we’d like to leave you with one last set of pictures—a set you may find as interesting as we found them. Each is of a different Eastern Cottontail, a species we found to be particularly common on prescribed fire sites when we took these images in late May. The first two are of the individuals we happened to be able to photograph in areas subjected to fire two months earlier in March. The latter two are of cottontails we happened to photograph elsewhere on the refuge in areas not in proximity to ground treated with a prescribed burn or exposed to accidental fire in recent years.


These first two rabbits are living the good life in a warm-season grass wonderland.


Oh Deer! Oh Deer! These last two rabbits have no clock to track the time; they have only ticks. Better not go for a stroll with them Alice—that’s no wonderland! I know, I know, it’s time to go. See ya later.
Aphrodite Fritillary
The Aphrodite Fritillary (Speyeria aphrodite), also known simply as the Aphrodite, is a brush-footed butterfly of deciduous, coniferous, and mixed forests. We found this female in a grassland margin between woodlots where prescribed fire was administered during the autumn of 2022 to reduce accumulations of natural fuels and an overabundance of invasive vegetation. A goal of the burn was to promote the growth of native species including the violets (Viola species) favored as larval host plants by this and other fritillaries.

By the time these adult butterflies make their reproductive flights in late summer, the violets that serve as larval host plants have gone dormant. To find patches of ground where the violets will come to life in spring, the female Aphrodite Fritillary has an ability to sense the presence of dormant roots, probably by smell. Upon finding an area where suitable violets will begin greening up next year, she’ll deposit her eggs. The eggs overwinter, then hatch to feed on the tender new violet leaves of spring.


Wildflower Meadow Update
Do you recall our “Photo of the Day” from seven months ago…

Well, here’s what that site looks like today…


And there are pollinating insects galore, most notably butterflies…


















Why on earth would anyone waste their time, energy, and money mowing grass when they could have this? Won’t you please consider committing graminicide this fall? That’s right, kill that lawn—at least the majority of it. Then visit the Ernst Seed website, buy some “Native Northeast Wildlflower Mix” and/or other blends, and get your meadow planted in time for the 2025 growing season. Just think of all the new kinds of native plants and animals you’ll be seeing. It could change your life as well as theirs.

Photo of the Day

Colonies at War
Where does all the time go? Already in 2024, half the calendar is in the trash and the gasoline and gunpowder gang’s biggest holiday of the year is upon us. Instead of bringing you the memory-making odors of quick-burning sulfur or the noise and multi-faceted irritations that revved-up combustion engines bring, we thought it best to provide our readers with a taste of history for this Fourth of July. Join us, won’t you, for a look back at one of the many events that shaped the landscape of our present-day world.
The early morning’s sun had just begun bathing the verdant gardens of the olde towne centre with a warm glowing light. Birds were singing and the local folk were beginning to stir in preparation for their day’s chores. Then, suddenly, something was stirring afoot.
The great battle had commenced. Within minutes, thousands of colonists spilled onto the pavement to join the melee and defend their homes.




The fighting was at close quarters—face to face with dominant soldiers sparing no effort to prevail in the struggle.

After about an hour had passed, the tide had turned and the fighting mass drifted to the south of the battle’s starting point. The aggressors had been repelled. The dispute was resolved—at least for a little while.



It wasn’t a struggle for independence. And it wasn’t a fight for liberty. For the sterile Pavement Ant worker, all the exertion and all the hazard of assuming the role of a soldier had but one purpose—to raise her sisters and become an aunt. Long live the queen.
Photo of the Day

Colorful Damselflies
Check out these glistening gems—mating damselflies on a late spring afternoon.













Aren’t they precious? You bet they are.
To see these and other damselflies, as well as their larger cousins the dragonflies, be certain to visit your favorite vegetated lake, pond, stream, or wetland on a sunny afternoon. You might be surprised by the variety of colorful species you can find.
And to help identify your sightings, don’t forget to visit our “Damselflies and Dragonflies” page by clicking the tab bearing that name at the top of this page.
Photo of the Day
Photo of the Day
Photo of the Day

What’s in a Name?



Pest Control at the Picnic
During one of the interludes between yesterday’s series of thunderstorms and rain showers, we had a chance to visit a wooded picnic spot to devour a little snack. Having packed lite fare, there wasn’t enough to share. Fortunately, pest control wasn’t a concern. It was handled for us…








After enjoying our little luncheon and watching all the sideshows, it was time to cautiously make our way home,…

Some Early Season Damselflies and Dragonflies
During recent weeks, as temperatures have warmed into the 70s and 80s, early season odonates—damselflies and dragonflies—have taken to the wing along our watercourses and wetlands to prey upon small flying insects.











If you’re out and about in coming days, you’ll find that flights of Common Green Darners, Black Saddlebags, and other species are underway as well. As the waters of the lower Susquehanna valley continue to warm, an even greater variety of these insects will take to the wing. To help with the identification of those you see, be certain to click the “Damselflies and Dragonflies” tab at the top of this page.
Arboreal Birds and Tent Caterpillars
During the past week, we’ve been exploring wooded slopes around the lower Susquehanna region in search of recently arrived Neotropical birds—particularly those migrants that are singing on breeding territories and will stay to nest. Coincidentally, we noticed a good diversity of species in areas where tent caterpillar nests were apparent.


Here’s a sample of the variety of Neotropical migrants we found in areas impacted by Eastern Tent Caterpillars. All are arboreal insectivores, birds that feed among the foliage of trees and shrubs searching mostly for insects, their larvae, and their eggs.








In the locations where these photographs were taken, ground-feeding birds, including those species that would normally be common in these habitats, were absent. There were no Gray Catbirds, Carolina Wrens, American Robins or other thrushes seen or heard. One might infer that the arboreal insectivorous birds chose to establish nesting territories where they did largely due to the presence of an abundance of tent caterpillars as a potential food source for their young. That could very well be true—but consider timing.





So why do we find this admirable variety of Neotropical bird species nesting in locations with tent caterpillars? Perhaps it’s a matter of suitable topography, an appropriate variety of native trees and shrubs, and an attractive opening in the forest.





Here in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed, the presence of Eastern Tent Caterpillar nests can often be an indicator of a woodland opening, natural or man-made, that is being reforested by Black Cherry and other plants which improve the botanical richness of the site. For numerous migratory Neotropical species seeking favorable places to nest and raise young, these regenerative areas and the forests surrounding them can be ideal habitat. For us, they can be great places to see and hear colorful birds.

Sightings on a Beautiful Spring Morning
Following a frosty night, sunny skies and a south breeze brought lots of action to the headquarters garden this morning. Take a look…






Solar Eclipse of 2024
It was dubbed the “Great Solar Eclipse”, the Great North American Eclipse”, and several other lofty names, but in the lower Susquehanna valley, where about 92% of totality was anticipated, the big show was nearly eclipsed by cloud cover. With last week’s rains raising the waters of the river and inundating the moonscape of the Pothole Rocks at Conewago Falls, we didn’t have the option of repeating our eclipse observations of August, 2017, by going there to view this year’s event, so we settled for the next best thing—setting up in the susquehannawildlife.net headquarters garden. So here it is, yesterday’s eclipse…












Prescribed Fire: Controlled Burns for Forest and Non-forest Habitats
Homo sapiens owes much of its success as a species to an acquired knowledge of how to make, control, and utilize fire. Using fire to convert the energy stored in combustible materials into light and heat has enabled humankind to expand its range throughout the globe. Indeed, humans in their furless incomplete mammalian state may have never been able to expand their populations outside of tropical latitudes without mastery of fire. It is fire that has enabled man to exploit more of the earth’s resources than any other species. From cooking otherwise unpalatable foods to powering the modern industrial society, fire has set man apart from the rest of the natural world.
In our modern civilizations, we generally look at the unplanned outbreak of fire as a catastrophe requiring our immediate intercession. A building fire, for example, is extinguished as quickly as possible to save lives and property. And fires detected in fields, brush, and woodlands are promptly controlled to prevent their exponential growth. But has fire gone to our heads? Do we have an anthropocentric view of fire? Aren’t there naturally occurring fires that are essential to the health of some of the world’s ecosystems? And to our own safety? Indeed there are. And many species and the ecosystems they inhabit rely on the periodic occurrence of fire to maintain their health and vigor.

Man has been availed of the direct benefits of fire for possibly 40,000 years or more. Here in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed, the earliest humans arrived as early as 12,000 years ago—already possessing skills for using fire. Native plants and animals on the other hand, have been part of the ever-changing mix of ecosystems found here for a much longer period of time—millions to tens of millions of years. Many terrestrial native species are adapted to the periodic occurrence of fire. Some, in fact, require it. Most upland ecosystems need an occasional dose of fire, usually ignited by lightning (though volcanism and incoming cosmic projectiles are rare possibilities), to regenerate vegetation, release nutrients, and maintain certain non-climax habitat types.
But much of our region has been deprived of natural-type fires since the time of the clearcutting of the virgin forests during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This absence of a natural fire cycle has contributed to degradation and/or elimination of many forest and non-forest habitats. Without fire, a dangerous stockpile of combustible debris has been collecting, season after season, in some areas for a hundred years or more. Lacking periodic fires or sufficient moisture to sustain prompt decomposition of dead material, wildlands can accumulate enough leaf litter, thatch, dry brush, tinder, and fallen wood to fuel monumentally large forest fires—fires similar to those recently engulfing some areas of the American west. So elimination of natural fire isn’t just a problem for native plants and animals, its a potential problem for humans as well.

To address the habitat ailments caused by a lack of natural fires, federal, state, and local conservation agencies are adopting the practice of “prescribed fire” as a treatment to restore ecosystem health. A prescribed fire is a controlled burn specifically planned to correct one or more vegetative management problems on a given parcel of land. In the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed, prescribed fire is used to…
-
-
- Eliminate dangerous accumulations of combustible fuels in woodlands.
- Reduce accumulations of dead plant material that may harbor disease.
- Provide top kill to promote oak regeneration.
- Regenerate other targeted species of trees, wildflowers, grasses, and vegetation.
- Kill non-native plants and promote growth of native plants.
- Prevent succession.
- Remove woody growth and thatch from grasslands.
- Promote fire tolerant species of plants and animals.
- Create, enhance, and/or manage specialized habitats.
- Improve habitat for rare species (Regal Fritillary, etc.)
- Recycle nutrients and minerals contained in dead plant material.
-
Let’s look at some examples of prescribed fire being implemented right here in our own neighborhood…

























In Pennsylvania, state law provides landowners and crews conducting prescribed fire burns with reduced legal liability when the latter meet certain educational, planning, and operational requirements. This law may help encourage more widespread application of prescribed fire in the state’s forests and other ecosystems where essential periodic fire has been absent for so very long. Currently in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed, prescribed fire is most frequently being employed by state agencies on state lands—in particular, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources on State Forests and the Pennsylvania Game Commission on State Game Lands. Prescribed fire is also part of the vegetation management plan at Fort Indiantown Gap Military Reservation and on the land holdings of the Hershey Trust. Visitors to the nearby Gettysburg National Military Park will also notice prescribed fire being used to maintain the grassland restorations there.
For crews administering prescribed fire burns, late March and early April are a busy time. The relative humidity is often at its lowest level of the year, so the probability of ignition of previous years’ growth is generally at its best. We visited with a crew administering a prescribed fire at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area last week. Have a look…

















Prescribed burns aren’t a cure-all for what ails a troubled forest or other ecosystem, but they can be an effective remedy for deficiencies caused by a lack of periodic episodes of naturally occurring fire. They are an important option for modern foresters, wildlife managers, and other conservationists.
Time to Order Trees and Shrubs for Spring
It’s that time of year. Your local county conservation district is taking orders for their annual tree sale and it’s a deal that can’t be beat. Order now for pickup in April.
The prices are a bargain and the selection includes the varieties you need to improve wildlife habitat and water quality on your property. For species descriptions and more details, visit each tree sale web page (click the sale name highlighted in blue). And don’t forget to order packs of evergreens for planting in mixed clumps and groves to provide winter shelter and summertime nesting sites for our local native birds. They’re only $12.00 for a bundle of 10.

Cumberland County Conservation District Annual Tree Seedling Sale—
Orders due by: Friday, March 22, 2024
Pickup on: Thursday, April 18, 2024 or Friday, April 19, 2024



Dauphin County Conservation District Seedling Sale—
Orders due by: Monday, March 18, 2024
Pickup on: Thursday, April 18, 2024 or Friday, April 19, 2024

Lancaster County Annual Tree Seedling Sale—
Orders due by: Friday, March 8, 2024
Pickup on: Friday, April 12, 2024






Lebanon County Conservation District Tree and Plant Sale—
Orders due by: Friday, March 8, 2024
Pickup on: Friday, April 19, 2024




Perry County Conservation District Tree Sale—
Orders due by: Sunday, March 24, 2024
Pickup on: Thursday, April 11, 2024

Again this year, Perry County is offering bluebird nest boxes for sale. The price?—just $12.00.

York County Conservation District Seedling Sale—
Orders due by: Friday, March 15, 2024
Pickup on: Thursday, April 11, 2024

To get your deciduous trees like gums, maples, oaks, birches, and poplars off to a safe start, conservation district tree sales in Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, and Perry Counties are offering protective tree shelters. Consider purchasing these plastic tubes and supporting stakes for each of your hardwoods, especially if you have hungry deer in your neighborhood.

There you have it. Be sure to check out each tree sale’s web page to find the selections you like, then get your order placed. The deadlines will be here before you know it and you wouldn’t want to miss values like these!
Birds Along the River’s Edge
Just as bare ground along a plowed road attracts birds in an otherwise snow-covered landscape, a receding river or large stream can provide the same benefit to hungry avians looking for food following a winter storm.
Here is a small sample of some of the species seen during a brief stop along the Susquehanna earlier this week.






Western Flycatcher on the Susquehanna
What was the attraction that prompted dozens of birders to hike more than a mile to a secluded field edge along the Northwest Lancaster County River Trail on this last full day of autumn? It must be something good.

Indeed it was. A Western Flycatcher (Empidonax difficilis), first discovered late last week, has weathered the coastal storm that in recent days pummeled the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed with several inches of rain and blustery winds. Western Flycatchers nest in the Rocky Mountain and Pacific Coast regions of North America. They spend their winters in Mexico. There are several records of these tiny passerines in our area during December. The first, a bird found in an area known as Tanglewood during the Southern Lancaster County Christmas Bird Count (CBC) on December 16, 1990, was well documented—photographs were taken and its call was tape recorded. It constituted the first record of a member of the Western Flycatcher’s “Pacific-slope” subspecies group ever seen east of the Mississippi River. It was reported through December 26, 1990. The Tanglewood flycatcher and a bird sighted years later on a subsequent “Solanco CBC” were both found inhabiting wooded thickets in the shelter of a ravine created by one of the Susquehanna’s small tributaries.



How long will this wandering rarity remain along the river trail? For added sustenance, sunny days throughout the coming winter offer ever-increasing chances of stonefly hatches on the adjacent river, particularly in the vicinity of the stone bridge piers. But ultimately, the severity of the weather and the bird’s response to it will determine its destiny.